1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to roller drawer guides and more specifically, to a pinched rail guide system that provides lateral relief to compensate for manufacturing tolerances and expansion and contraction during the life of the furniture. The pinched rail guide system is comprised of a pair of guide rails exteriorly mounted to the parallel side walls of a drawer or the like. There are two sets of three guide rollers positioned so that two of the guide rollers are beneath the guide rail and supporting the drawer-like member. The third guide roller is stationed to engage the top of the guide rail and whose location is of paramount importance to the present invention. Due to the fact that most manufacturing is performed on assembly lines by machinery that can consistently achieve tolerances within thousandths of millimeters, the third roller can be positioned so that a force is created on the guide rail between the third roller and the other guide rollers. Further, the third roller is fixedly attached at a point past the median point of the base guide rollers. This will prevent any vertical play while sliding the drawer-like member within the guide roller members.
This assemblage of guide rollers and rail is an improvement over the existing guide rail systems by requiring less hardware and case components while improving vertical and lateral stability over prior art. Installation of guide rollers is simplified when using the present invention as is drawer installation and removal.
In addition, the present invention allows for expansion and contraction of the drawer or like member(s) and the exterior structural drawer or like holding article. A first set of guide rollers and a second set of guide rollers form a mating set of guide rollers that are fixedly attached opposite the other and spaced apart by the drawer or like member. The sets can be mounted to the structural drawer-like holding member by individually fixedly mounting each guide roller to the structural drawer-like holding frame member according to the aforementioned prescribed method or each set can be fixedly mounted to a guide roller plate member. The first set of guide rollers has each roller rotatably mounted onto a guide roller hub element. The second set of guide rollers has each roller rotatably mounted onto a guide roller hub element. Each guide roller of the second set being mounted onto the guide roller hub element has a through bore which varies in size whereby the head of the guide roller mounting element is contained in a cavity within the guide roller which permits the guide roller to move in a transaxle fashion dictated by the variable expansion and contraction of the drawer-like member and the exterior structural drawer-like holding article.
Drawer stops are located on the top rear section of the rails and are milled into wooden rails and are formed into metal rails. In operation the drawer-like member(s) can be pulled open until the stops in the upper tracks of the pinched rails come in contact with the third guide rollers. To remove the drawer-like member the drawer-like member is extended to its full open position whereupon the guide rail stops will be engaged by the third guide roller members. The face member is raised pivoting on the first guide roller members until the guide rail stops pass under the third guide roller members whereby the drawer-like member can be completely withdrawn from the exterior structural drawer-like holding article. The degree of difficulty for removal of the drawer member is decreased compared to those of conventional guide systems. The clearance needed above the drawer member is also reduced due to change in removal procedure allowing the manufacturer to use larger drawers in a given face frame opening.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are numerous roller drawer guide systems which provide for guiding and limiting the movement of sliding drawers. While these roller drawer guide systems may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. The present invention offers many improvements to both manufacturers and users. It is thus desirable to provide a roller drawer guide system utilizing pinched rails to achieve vertical and lateral stabilization of the drawer member while maintaining a smooth, quiet ride, ease of removal and installation, and lower manufacturing costs. It is further desirable to provide a pinched rail drawer guide system that allows compensation for lateral differentiation while maintaining lateral stability through a combination of fixed and lateral relief wheel guides.
It is yet further desirable to provide a pinched rail drawer guide system that may be configured to accommodate milled or formed rails each of which can be either assembly mounted or a screw mounted to the furniture piece.
The present invention discloses a pinched rail guide system which is comprised of a pair of guide rails exteriorly jointed to the parallel side walls of a drawer or the like. There are two sets of three guide rollers positioned so that two of the guide rollers are beneath the guide rail and supporting the drawer-like member. The third guide roller is stationed to engage the top of the guide rail and which location is of paramount importance to the present invention. Sets of guide rollers can be mounted to the structural drawer-like holding member by individually fixedly mounting each guide roller to the structural drawer-like holding frame member according to the aforementioned prescribed method or each set can be fixedly mounted to a guide roller plate member. Drawer stops are located on the top rear section of the rails and are milled into wooden rails and are formed into metal rails. In operation the drawer-like member(s) can be pulled open until the stops in the upper tracks of the pinched rails come in contact with the third guide rollers. Embodiments are also shown wherein dual guide rollers are used, and, pre-formed guide rails are placed at the top and bottom of the sides of the drawer-like member.
An object of the present invention is to provide a lateral relief pinched rail drawer guide system that is self compensating to variations in drawer width through the use of a combination of slidable lateral relief wheel guides and fixed wheel guides.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a pinched rail drawer guide system with lateral relief which will overcome the shortcomings of prior art devices.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pinched rail drawer guide system wherein rails have grooved tracks to accommodate the wheel guides and restrict vertical movement more effectively than the prior art thereby increasing lateral and vertical stability and allowing a smoother, quieter travel.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pinched rail drawer guide system wherein all of the wheel guides on either side of the drawer member are proximally located within the housing member and are positioned to require less clearance above drawer and greater ease to remove or install the drawer member than is needed in the prior art thereby increasing the spatial efficiency of each drawer member.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a pinched rail drawer guide system with a retrofit version that can be adapted to existing sliding drawer systems.
Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds.
To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims.